Kenshin's Confession
by Lumi75
Summary: Late one night, Uesugi Kenshin confesses to Bishamonten his private thoughts regarding his worthy opponent, Takeda Shingen. Shingen x Kenshin


Disclaimer: Character design by CAPCOM, Historical references based on their respective wiki pgs & "ASK KENSHIN" by Nobukane

Summary: While on a pilgrimage to Mt Fuji on January 1st, 17yrsold! Kenshin stumbled into 26yrsold! Shingen from the neighbouring province of Kai. Shonen-ai Warning

Warning: mild religious references.

Notes: Bishamonten is the Buddhist God of War, Kenshin's favourite Deity. Both Shingen & Kenshin are Buddhists. Takeda Shingen is Sagittarius ( b. Dec 1, 1521 ), Uesugi Kenshin is Aquarius ( b. Feb 18, 1530) BTW, I think Kenshin is looking much too girly in SB. In this version he looks like the SW version or even better, the Gackt version ;P On dailymotion, search for "Gackt - Ryu no Gotoku" for an inspiring MV.

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_Shingen x Kenshin  
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**KENSHIN'S CONFESSION**

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_-Prologue_-

Dear Bishamonten…

Forgive me, my Lord, for I have been a fool.

I finally realize your purpose for sending Takeda Shingen into my life. For the past 20 years, I have regarded him as my nemesis and strove to defeat him battle. But now I sadly wonder if that has been the correct interpretation of Your karmic Plan. We have both spent too much time fighting just for the sake of fighting. Our constant skirmishes made us squander too much of our time and resources allowing Oda Nobunaga to come from nowhere and transform himself into the most demonic conqueror in the West; the very image of the Devil King himself. I was arrogant to have assumed that Shingen and I were already the strongest daimyos in the world, and the unification of Japan would be brought about by either one of us.

I smile bitterly, and wonder if my rival is contemplating the exact same thought at this very moment. _I raise this cup of sake in your honor, Tiger of Kai._

We should have co-operated right from the start. And by the start, I mean 20 years ago, when we first met at the foot of Mount Fuji while on our New Year's Pilgrimage. Ironic, but we were both traveling in disguise and did not realize our true identity until the morning after.

At that time, I was a hot-headed novice of 17 years old and leader of a small clan in Echigo, while he was 26 years old and Lord of the wealthy domain of Kai. I had no idea of how much higher I would climb in life, but earlier in the year, the power struggle that forced me to kill my older brother in order to bring unity to our clan had left me with a deep mistrust of all men, including my own flesh and blood. Sure, I could trust my soldiers with my life, but never my heart; it was forever locked in ice. Meanwhile Shingen had also usurped the leadership of Kai from his father, when he was 21. But unlike me, his older brother Nobushige, the original heir, actually conceded to him and became his loyal supporter. Perhaps because of this, Shingen always retained a jovial, approachable aura despite his rugged features. In contrast, I have been described as an even-handed, principled gentleman, but I basically hold myself aloof. While I truly envision a world of honor and chivalry, where everyone shall treat each other with kindness and respect, I have one fatal flaw in my character. I possess an intense, cold stubbornness to be the winner, even if winning means living a life deprived of love.

Thus, I have issued challenge after challenge to Takeda Shingen, requesting that he meet me, man to man, on the battlefield. This was the old-fashioned way to gain honor, by destroying your worthiest opponent in a one-to-one fight to the death. I must say, Shingen was a true samurai as flamboyantly old-school as I was and could not resist the temptation. We were both equally stupid that way. But I was the more obsessed of the two. I thirsted to clash with him, literally, on a one-on-one duel. And I almost succeeded, that time during the fourth Battle at Kawa-nakajima. Taking along only a small group of followers, I charged directly into the enemy line and rode into his camp HQ, hacking at him from my warhorse. He was completely caught off guard and desperately deflected my strike with his iron fan while still seated on his camp stool, not even having had the time to draw his blade. Ah! But we only had one second – that measly ONE second of time – before his Takeda soldiers swarmed around me and we were separated. Bastard! I would have taken his head with my strong sword, "Azuki Nagamitsu". Not even Nobunaga dared to meet me one-on-one, and I have issued him with plenty of challenges. But he is of the new generation, who prefer guns and trickery.

But don't get me wrong, Bishamonten. I admit my idealism as a warrior translated into rigidity as a statesman. I'm so short-sighted. So in the end, Shingen and I ended up dividing the province of Shinano between us….but what about the greater territory of Japan? We won the battle but not the War. Nobunaga, who was but a snot-nosed brat while we were both mature warlords, represents the new wave. He won because of his unshakable alliance with the Tokugawa Clan of Mikawa. It should have been you and me together, Shingen. You and me against the world.

Same name, same goals, same timing. Born under the same star...but were we really destined to become rivals?

If we didn't take a wrong turn 20 years ago, how different our lives would have been!

Ah, Bishamonten, I would like to confess to you the tale of how we first met, but it is already past the hour of the Rat, so I shall continue tomorrow. _Oyasumi,_ my Lord, and I commend my soul to Your safekeeping.

Your faithful avatar,

_~ Kenshin_

_To be continued…_

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A/N: I'm curious about Shingen x Kenshin's relationship but I couldn't find any fanfics so I went ahead and wrote this. Sorry about adding the religious touch, I hope it didn't offend anyone. As for their appearance in this fic, I'm picturing them around Masamune & Kojuuro's age. So hey, they could have been cute too! The real drama begins the next & concluding chp! I hope you've enjoyed this and plz R&R if you did, I'd really appreciate it! :)

Recommendation: I just found an excellent Kenshin interview fic called "Ask Kenshin" by Nobukane. Check it out at the Samurai Warriors, Games Category, and leave Kenshin your questions! :D


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